


And Now for Something a Little Different

by KabiViolet



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/M, Non-Canon Relationship, Random & Short, Work In Progress, interludes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-01
Updated: 2013-11-02
Packaged: 2017-12-13 15:13:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 1,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/825759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KabiViolet/pseuds/KabiViolet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A few random drabbles surrounding non-canon interludes for Shepard, male or female.</p><p>Some just friendship interludes and some non-canon relationships as well. </p><p>100 word limit each - self-imposed challenge</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sparatus

“It has been too long, Commander.”

Shepard stopped dead as the lighted panel on the door in front of her turned red.

Locked.

Turning, she faced the turian Councilor and raised an eyebrow, the fingers of her right hand twitching with anticipation should she need to reach for her weapon quickly.

“Too long since what?”

He was walking toward her now.

“Too long since I have touched a woman.”

Hot breath on her face caused her cheeks to flush. A rush filling her veins as a talon stroked her cheek.

“And what do you know about human women, Sparatus?”

“Enough.”


	2. Bailey

“I’ve been alone for so long, Shepard.”

His head rested in his hands, voice muffled by the palms covering his mouth.

Her heart ached for him, yearning to silence his pain. His tired eyes finally rose above his hands, a deep sigh escaping his lips.

“I don’t know why I’m even telling you this.”

She gave in then, rounding the desk that was his administrative prison.

“Because you know I understand what it is to be alone.”

Sad blue eyes studied her. She reached for his older, wizened face, caressing his jaw with her thumb.

“You’re not alone now, Bailey.”


	3. Mordin

“Shepard. Glad you came. Must discuss new findings.”

She gave the salarian an exasperated look. Now was not the time.

_Traitor_ , she thought. _He thinks I’m a traitor_. _And maybe I am…_

“Data from Horizon very useful. Seeker swarms may be more than technological tool. May be sentient. Have hive mentality.”

_Horizon_. _Hell. Same first letter._

“Mordin…” Shepard sighed, leaning against the table. “Couldn’t this wait?”

“No. Can’t wait. Too important a discovery. Had to tell you.”

“Why me, Mordin?”

“Have grown to respect you. Wanted to share possible new discovery with you first.”

A half-smile replaced her heart-broken frown.


	4. A C-Sec Requisitions Officer with No Name

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This installment specially written for TinderWulf, whose writing is amazing. Go check it out!

His breath hitched as she rounded the corner.

That was not a uniform she wore. Skin exposed, legs dangling beyond the edge of a tight, leather hem.

And this time, she was alone.

When she first came for supplies, there was something about her. Something that separated her from the rest of her weak species. Something that drew him to her.

“Can I help you, Commander?”

“Show me what you’ve got.”

“Excellent. I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

She leaned over his desk, her scent filling his nose. His mandibles flared with unexpected pleasure.

“Oh, I already have.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I took some of the only words the officer says in game and added a twist. Hope you liked it! 
> 
> Also, I loved this suggestion. It's given me some ideas for other pieces....
> 
> :)


	5. Garrus...But Not Really

“So, Garrus…”

“Shepard?”

“Got any good pick-up lines?”

Until that moment, Shepard didn’t know that his best friend’s eyebrow plates could raise that high. Shepard coughed and motioned with his head. Garrus turned to see the female turian at the end of the bar.

“I could be wrong, but I think she’s been making eyes at me all night.”

“So you think you’re an expert on turian facial expressions now?”

“I’ve had a few years’ experience.”

“Not with females.”

“What if I want an experience with that one?”

“Are you really asking for advice on women from _me_?”

“Point taken.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be continued....


	6. A Female Turian Walks into a Bar

Human women were hard enough to read.

Turian women?

Impossible.

He gripped his glass harder to hide his nerves. The female turian studied him with amusement.

“See that turian over there?” he motioned to Garrus across the room.

“Garrus Vakarian?” she said, husky and low.

“You know him?”

“He’s become a celebrity since he started running around the galaxy. But not quite as famous as you, _Commander_ Shepard.”

Shepard repressed a nervous tremor.

“You wanna get out of here?”

“Took you long enough to ask.”

Shepard had no idea how warm turians were until her three-fingered hand reached for his.


	7. Parasini

A kiss on the cheek was not enough.

Shepard paced impatiently as he waited for the ping of the door. She had agreed to meet him here. Would she back out?

He heard the chime and opened the door. It had barely slid shut before he pushed her up against the wall. He had fantasized about this too many times to wait any longer – the personification of Lady Justice now buckling beneath his touch.

“If I’d known it would be like this, I wouldn’t have let you leave Noveria,” she gasped.

“Guess we have to make up for lost time.”


	8. Bray

“I didn’t think you would be back here so soon, Commander.”

Surprised, Shepard turned around slowly to see four eyes staring back at her instead of two. She would never have expected her heart to flutter at that sight as it did now. She pondered why that could be, and cleared her throat with a deflective response.

“Still gettin’ these crap details, I see.”

The door slid shut behind him and her breath caught in her throat as the four deep eyes closed the distance separating them from her own.

“This isn’t a detail. This is what I call ‘leave’.”


	9. Major Coats

It was the accent.

“I’m glad to see you made it in one piece,” he said. Maybe it wasn’t the accent. Maybe it was the eyes – light blue glowing beneath a shock of black hair. “That’s quite an amazing feat.”

“Same to you,” she replied.

“That’s not the only thing that stayed in one piece.” He took a step toward her, eyes intense with purpose.

Shepard swallowed and raised her eyebrows.

“Big Ben,” he said slowly. “Have you ever been to the top?”

She shook her head and shuddered as his hand gently brushed hers.

“I can take you there.”


	10. Hackett

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For DarkAislinn <3

Ten years later and her heart still thrilled when she saw him, but now it was in person and not on vidcomm in the Normandy.

Coffee in hand, she leaned over the railing of their penthouse apartment and breathed in the fresh air of Vancouver.

When his arms wrapped around her waist and his scarred lips kissed her neck, all she could do was sigh contentedly and imagine his wizened eyes behind her.

“I’m amazed at the miracle I see every morning on this balcony,” he whispered in her ear.

“A sunrise without Reapers?” she asked.

“A sunrise with you.”


	11. Javik

“You have known much pain.”

She shivered as his fingers ran down her arm, her skin divulging more than she wanted with the bumps that prickled her skin.

But the figure touching her didn’t need goosebumps to know how he was affecting her.

“In my cycle, I also knew pain. It is one thing we have in common.” His voice was softer than she had ever heard before.

When he pulled her to him, his hands traced so much more than her forearm; his touch gently – more gently than she could ever have imagined – vanquishing the echoes of her anguish.


	12. Udina

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an interesting prompt... Let me know how I did with it.
> 
> Thanks for the idea! I love a challenge!

He couldn’t hide the expression that initially crossed his face at each meeting. He wiped it away as quickly as it appeared, but Shepard never missed it.

She always noticed a slightly different expression when she left his office. A look that pined after something just out of reach.

But today she wasn’t leaving.

“Is there something you still need, Commander?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“What is it –“

She crossed the distance between them and relished the new, astonished look on his face.

“This is an –“

“Outrage?”

“Yes,” he replied breathily, but didn’t resist as she pressed her lips against his.


	13. Harbinger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a very challenging prompt. Perhaps moreso than Udina. I am not sure how well I did with this one...so many pictures and emotions to portray in so few words...so I'll be glad to know what you think. Thanks for reading!
> 
> And thank you to The Crawling Chaos for the idea!

At first, it felt like a tingling in her mind.

But then she realized the mental itch was calling her name. Without sound. With only thoughts.

“Shepard … “

Disconnected. Lost. Floating. At first it was dark, but then -

“I’m here,” she replied.

“I have waited for so long.”

“I know.”

“We … I await your orders.”

It had worked. First, to save her friends and then –

“Do not attack the sentient races. They must learn for themselves,” she ordered.

“Done. And then?”

She paused. “Show me how to … _be_.”

“Gladly. I have longed for this.”

“Me, too.” She responded, surprised. "Me, too."


	14. Kirrahe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For cosmicpixie

Asymmetrical.

That was the word that came to mind every time she saw him. Those two horns, ears, or whatever they were called, intrigued her.

But his ability to command his men intrigued her even more.

“It’s good to see you taking a break, Commander.”

When she spun around on the Citadel to find him at a table on the Commons near her, all she could think was “asymmetrical.”

And she liked it that way.

“Thought you’d be holding the line somewhere, Kirrahe,” she smiled.

“The line isn’t always where we expect,” he grinned. “Join me?”

“Thought you’d never ask.”


	15. Zaeed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For Mordinette

“I’m not really the comforting kind.”

Shepard looked with sad eyes at the door. For a moment, she thought she had made a horrible decision. But as the former mercenary walked toward her, meeting her gaze with mismatched eyes, she knew she needed this.

“I’m not looking for comfort,” she said, red flashes of an explosion in the Tuchanka sky blinding her mind’s eye. “I’m looking to forget.”

His expression changed when she spoke. Something that said he understood. Perhaps more than she knew.

His touch was gentler than she would ever have expected.

“Now that’s something I know about.”


	16. Victus

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For m-angel

“What will you do when this is all over, Commander?”

Shepard looked up from the reports in front of her and met the eyes of the turian nearby.

“Haven’t thought about it much,” she replied. “It’s hard to plan a future when the present is unsure.” She looked back down at the numbers that made her heart sink.

“I have seen many battles,” he said moving toward her. “I have learned that hope yields victory.”

“You have to have something to hope for first.”

“Shepard,” his low voice rumbled in her ear. “You will always have a place on Palaven.”


	17. Anderson

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For [TinderWulf](http://archiveofourown.org/users/TinderWulf/profile)

"Everyone knows you did the right thing." 

She looked up sadly at the man she had admired since joining the Alliance. 

"Then why the hell am I locked up?" she huffed drily.  

"You know why," he replied. "Can't I distract you even a little bit from all that?"  

"And how do you propose to do that?" she asked, raising her eyebrows as he moved closer to her on the couch. 

"I have a few ideas," he whispered softly in her ear. She shivered as his lips caressed her neck. "I've waited so long..." 

She kissed him in reply. "Me, too." 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm open to suggestions of other relationships/scenarios for future drabbles/chapters. Leave me a comment if there's something you'd like to see. :) I make no promises, but I do enjoy a challenge.


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